Almost March

One of my favorite news sources is local- the slvdweller. Not only do they provide links to the happenings pertaining to life in and around the valley, they also magically find links to bloggers who mention the valley. Today's discovery made me laugh. Their set-up is Defining Culture and the blog post suggests a lack of cell phone coverage signifies a lack of culture. Clever. As a side note, I've never had coverage problems here. In fact, the post contradicts itself by commenting on text messaging... anyhow. The post reminded me of two things: a. living here is a choice that's not for everyone and b. I should update my blog.

I want to begin with letter a. A couple of conversations come to mind. A great friend and financial supporter of my steel drum band once told the following story: A woman asks a local what the people are like in this town. The local responds by asking what the people were like in their last town. The woman responds, they were friendly, caring, thoughtful- everything you'd want in a community. The local responds that yes, that's what the people are like here as well. Moments later, another woman asks the local the very same question and the local responds with the same follow-up question. The woman states the people in the previous community were cold, rude, and disingenuous. The local replies with a yep, that's what you'll get here too. I don't think I need to point out the moral to the story.

In a discussion during our water "crisis" in Alamosa, a friend shared he is always secretly glad when the valley gets negative press. As a long time resident and self-admitted xenophobe, he's happy to keep others out who would otherwise muck up the wonderful community we have here.

Part b to this post intersects with my weekend. The blogger mentioned above was apparently a band director who attended our recent Honor Band. This year, we hosted the great Ray Cramer- the retired director of bands at Indiana University. He conducted the Wind Ensemble, as well as split conducting duties with Jamie, Tracy and I for the Concert Band. I personally enjoyed conducting- working with high school students who want to be here is a treat. As a conductor who loves to conduct but doesn't often do so, I had to reflect on what is most important to me as a musician. I've always appreciated a conductor who inspired, had artistic expression, and held me accountable for my parts. Tough was good, but rapport was essential. The students who attended the honor band were great and I was honored to work with them!

The honor band is a large recruiting effort on our part. Recruiting is hands down the most difficult part of higher ed. Actually, I should say for music higher ed. It's not a problem for a math professor who will teach math whether a math major shows up or not. They spend very little time recruiting, while on my day off today, I've sent over ten e-mails, put the finishing touches on my upcoming Day of Percussion, and pondered other approaches. This upcoming week, we have the honor choirs on campus, followed by the Day of Percussion, and then a week of classes before I head to Ft. Worth for some rehearsals. It never ends. Although, March is a nice break before the onslaught of recitals we call April. More later...